Inking mechanism



Dec. 23, 1952 A. DREssEL ErAL 2,622,523

INKING MECHANISM Filed June 24, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Dec. 23, 1952 A. DREssEL ETAL INKING MECHANISM med .nine 24, 194e 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 2m S wf Y .N

if @Y 7 W au. n

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 INKING MECHANISM Arthur Dressel, Great Neck, N. Y., and Thomas H. Johnson, Rowayton, Conn., assignors to R. Hoe & Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 24, 1948, Serial No. 34,953

(Cl. IOL-210) 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in inking mechanism for printing machines.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved inking mechanism of the type in which the ink storage space and pumping mechanism are included in an ink rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved inking mechanism of the type indicated, in which provision is made for supplying ink of different colors to `different sections of an ink distributing cylinder.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inking mechanism with provision for supplying ink from separate supplies of the same or different colors to different sections of a distributing cylinder, together with mechanism for manually and automatically putting the various ink sources into and out of operation, as required.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inking mechanism in which ready adjustment for pages of different widths may be made.

With these and still other objects which will appear in the following description in mind, the invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts and details of construction which will now first be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing, and will then be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an inking mechanism embodying the invention in a preferred form;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the mechanism of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 3--3 of Figure 2, showing also part of the ink distributing cylinder cooperating with the inking mechanism;

Figure 4 is a partial view similar to Figure l but on an enlarged scale, certain parts being removed to show more clearly, internal structure and the mounting of the mechanism on the machine frame being also shown;

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view of the mechanism of Figure 4 With certain parts removed;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional View as seen on the line 6 of Figure 3 and in the direction of the arrow; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional View as seen on the line I of Figure 3 and in the direction of the arrow.

The inking mechanism supplies ink through a lnumber of conduits or passages I which terminate in widened and flattened orifices 2, to an ink distributing cylinder 3, which is indicated in full lines in Figure 3 and in phantom in Figure 1. The conduits I are supplied with ink in groups, of which there are four in the embodiment illustrated, each group containing a suicient number of conduits for supplying a desired section of the ink distributing cylinder, generally one page wide, with ink, In the embodiment shown, there are nine conduits in each group and each group is associated with its own means for holding a supply of ink and pumping it through the conduits. The combination of ink supply, pump means and conduits for each group forms a section or compartment of the inking mechanism, the four sections being identiiied in the drawing by the reference letters A, B, C and D.

The general frame structure of the inking mechanism may be formed as a unitary casting I0, having end walls II and partitions I2 (Figure 4), defining separated compartments containing supplies of ink which may be of different colors. Each compartment contains ink pumping mechanism which is generally of the type shown in Schmidt Patent No. 1,348,900 and White Patent No. 1,311,198, but with certain modifications in the arrangement and motion of the parts to adapt the pumping mechanism to the purposes of the present invention.

The conduits I are formed in the following way. The terminal section Ia of each conduit l (Figures 3 and 6) consists of a groove formed in a plate or cover member I3 which is fastened down upon an ungrooved surface I4 of the casting I0 by means of studs and Wing nuts I5. The inner section Ib of each conduit is formed by a groove in a member I6 (Figures 3 and 7) and the abutting flat surface I1 of the casting I0, to which the member I6 is secured. The conduit sections Ib terminate in bores Ic in the member I6, which are adapted to receive ink from the ink pumps.

A member I8 fastened to the member I6 defines therewith an opening I9 for positioning and slidably accommodating a plate 20, having bores 2I for slidably accommodating ink pump pistons 22. The pistons 22 are in turn slidably carried in la bar 23, being urged upwardly with respect thereto by springs 24 and their upward movement being limited by collars 25 fastened to the pistons 22. The plate 20 and bar 23 are further linked together by posts 28 (Figures 4 and 5) carried on the plate 20 and slidably received within bores in the bar 23. As will be understood from the Schmidt patent specification, hereinbefore mentioned, the bar 23 moves bodily in a circular path while the plate 2i) reciprocates in a horizontal plane. This movement causes the pistons 22 to reciprocate vertically within the cylinder bores 2 I of the plate 20 and the plate 20 together with the piston 22 is caused to move back and forth (from left to right in Figure 3) to produce the required valving action. As shown in Figure 3, the bar 23 and the pump pistons 22 are at the lowermost point of their travel. As the plate 20 moves 'to the left, the bore 2| is brought into communication with the ink chamber, and the pistons 22 moving upward draw ink into the cylinder bores 2| until the pistons reach lthe uppermost point in their stroke. Meanwhile, the plate 2!) will have moved back to the position shown in Figure 3, trapping ink in the cylinder bores 2I. Further movement of the plate 2D to the right will then bring the bores 2| into communication with the bores Ic, and downward motion of the bar 23 and pistons will discharge the trapped ink and force it through the conduits I. This cycle, being repeated, produces a controlled and measured flow of ink through the conduits I.

A cover plate is provided for each of the compartments of Ithe inking mechanism, being fastened thereto by studs and wing nuts I5 and 3I, and carries a number of adjusting screws 32. The screws 32 are shown in their uppermost positions in Figures 3 and 5, permitting a full stroke of the pistons 22 for pumping the maximum amount of ink. Adjusting any screw 32 into a lower position limits the upward motion of the piston 22 directly below it, thus limiting its stroke and reducing the quanti-ty of ink pumped. Access to any of the compartments for filling it with ink may be had by removing the associated cover 33 which is provided with a handle 34.

A shaft (Figures 3, 4 and 5), which is suitably journaled in the end walls I I and partitions I2, is driven by means of gearing 4I from the printing machine, in the usual manner for such appliances, and may be coupled to the ink pumping mechanism of any or all of the compartments A, B, C and D, by mechanism aboutI to be described. For clarity in the drawings, the compartmentsv A and B are shown in FiguresV 4 and 5, withk different partsl of their mechanism broken away and removed. The drive mechanism includes for each compartment a hollow shaft carrying gears 48 at its ends (compartment A) and which may be coupled to the shaft i0 by means of a clutch 4l slidably keyed to the shaft 40 and cooperating with a clutch member formed in Ithe adjacent gear 46. A clutch operating linger 'extends downwardly into aA groove in the clutch member 47j and is utilized to move the same baci; andv forth on the shaft 40 for clutching and unclutching the hollow shaft 45 of the compartment inA question. Each rod @Sis carried on a member 5I]v (Figure 5., compartment B), which is slidable within a slot 5I formed in the cover 33 and is held down so that the rod 48 is in engagement in the groove, by a washer 52. A nut 53 cooperating with a threaded shank of the member 5o provides for fastening the member 50 in either clutching or unclutching position, as desired. A common control rod 60, which may be operated by a solenoid or other automatic device as desired, is provided, and slides freely in bores through the members 5G. Where automatic control o the compartment is desired, the nuit 53 is screwed upwardly, releasing the associated member 50 for movement relative to the cover plate 39 and gripping the rod so as to couple the clutch control member for the compartment in question to the rod 60 for operation thereby.

The gears 46 at each end of the hollow shaft 45 of each compartment cooperate with gears E5 (Figure 3 and compartment B of Figure 5) which are carried in bearings 65. Journals 68 formed on the ends of the pump operating bars 23 are journalled eccentrically in the gears E5 for providing the movement of the bars 23, as previously described.

As will now be apparent, any compartment may be rendered inactive or put out of operation by adjusting its clutch control member to unclutched position and turning the associated nut 53 so as to hold it in such position. This also permits idle movement of the bar 6i) so far as the compartment in question is concerned. Any desired type of operation of the rod 6U and any compartments coupled thereto may be provided, including direct or remote control by a pressman, or automatic cperation to uncouple the clutches of all compartments when the machine is not printing or is reversed.

As previously noted, the delivery ends of the channels I are formed in the member I3, being defined by grooves in the lower face thereof and the cooperating at surface of the casting I9. Where adjustment for different page widths is desired, such adjustment may be made by merely removing the element I3 and replacing it with a similar' element having channel sections la which register with the channeled sections Ib but which take diierent courses in the member i3 so as to spread out or narrow down the width of the section of the ink drum 3 which is covered by the orices of each group of channels. The member I3 may be made of aluminum alloy or other light metal to be conveniently removable and replaceable and the mechanism is thus adaptable to varying page widths with minimum expense and trouble.

What is claimed is:

1. In an inking mechanism, an inl; rail comprising a partitioned ink reservoir extending the length of the rail and forming a plurality or" separate compartments for holding ink, pumping means in each compartment, and a group of conduits connected to each pumping means for supplying ink to a section of a cylinder to be inked.

2. In an inking mechanism, an inl: rail comprising a partitioned ink reservoir extending the length of the rail and forming a plurality of separate compartments for holding ink, pumping means in each compartment, a group of conduits connected to each pumping means for supplying ink to a section of a cylinder to be inked, a common drive shaft for the pumping means of all compartments, and a clutch for connecting the pumping means of each compartment to the drive shaft.

3. Inlring mechanism according to claim 2, comprising also common control means for the clutches, means for selectively coupling the clutches thereto and means for selectively fastening the clutches in unclutching position.

4. In an inking emechanism, an ink rail comprising a partitioned ink reservoir extending the length of the rail and forming a plurality of separate compartments for holding ink, pumping means in each compartment, and a group of conduits connected to each pumping means for supplying ink to a section of a cylinder to be inked, the conduits including terminal sections formed by an ungrooved lower member attached to the reservoir and an upper member removably fastened thereto and having grooves cooperating therewith to define the conduits.

ARTHUR DRESSEL. THOMAS H. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of' this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

